A minor is a person under the age of 18, although in 1969, before the Family Law Reform act was passed, a person under the age of 21 was classed as an 'infant'. The Family Law Reform act lowered the age to 18 and introduced the term 'minor'. A minors' capacity to contract is very much restricted but if there was no protection at all for minors then it would be seen that the law is too harsh on young people. Considering at 16 a 'minor' can get married, have children and get a job it seems strange that the age has not been brought down further to 16 instead of 18 as the Law Commission suggested in 1982.The aim of this age limit is to protect minors from their own inexperience and perhaps from unwise transactions whilst not being too harsh on any adult dealing with a minor.

In the case of Nash v Inman (1908) a Cambridge university graduate ordered 'eleven fancy waistcoats' from a Savile Row tailor. He did not pay for them, relying on the fact that he was not of full capacity. As waistcoats were normal student clothing at Cambri

Measures to protect minors though have sometimes ended up putting a young person at a disadvantage. In the case of Mercantile Union v Ball (1937) a contract of hire purchase by a minor running his own business was held unenforceable. This is an example of the courts looking after the interests of the minor, by preventing him from taking financial risks, without the necessary experience, and it could be argued that this is not a bad position, given that the age of majority is now 18.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)